Pico de Gallo recipe

We recently returned from a missions trip to Mazatlan, Mexico. Love, love, love the food there! So fresh and real. Having been away from California for so long, I miss the real deal.

We were blessed to work together with some local ladies in one of the church kitchens, and they helped us make some pico de gallo, Mazatlan style. It is so simple!

Of course, we were making an insanely large amount for our mobile kitchen, so last week I experimented at home with a more manageable amount. Here is the recipe:

6 very firm but ripe plum tomatoes
1/2 yellow onion
4 serrano peppers
1/2 bunch cilantro
3 limes

Basically, you just dice the vegetables, mix, and serve, but I *did* learn some tricks to make it just right. The first trick concerns the tomatoes - there is a *right* way to dice them if you don't want a watery, mushy salsa. You must use a very, very sharp knife, and be careful while cutting not to squash the tomatoes, but you still want a very small dice. The way that works for me is to cut each tomato in half lengthwise, then lay on board cut side down. Take your sharp knife and cut into 2-3 slices by cutting parallel to the board - like you would slice a bagel. Then slice into strips lengthwise, and finally dice the strips. You may need to sharpen your knife, as this only works well with a VERY sharp knife.

Also, wash your cilantro well, but also dry very well before dicing. Water on your cilantro will mean watery sauce.

The limes should be welled rolled before cutting to release the juice, then squeezed well. A hand held juicer works best for this.

Finally, the peppers - I never did find out the name of the variety of pepper we used in Mexico. It was shaped like a large jalapeno, but it was incredibly hot - hot enough to wear gloves just to handle them. The serranos here work OK, but next time I am going to experiment with habaneros. With any pepper, be sure to mince them very, very small. It is no fun getting a big piece of hot pepper in a bite.

Anyway, this sauce should last about a week if kept in a sealed container and refrigerated. It is really, really delicious!

Guacamole

Growing up in central California, in a Mexican-Portuguese family, you would think that I would instinctively know how to make this. But, this was something we struggled with in my family. Our general recipe always called for lots of lemon and sour cream, and what resulted was a vaguely avocado-y dip of some sort. Not very memorable.

Years ago when we lived in San Diego I fell in love with the local version, which was just an explosion of real, creamy avocado flavor. I began watching local cooking shows, reading local recipes in the paper, and experimenting until I came up with my own version. The kicker? It's incredibly simple.

Basically, when you have good quality avocados, perfectly ripe, all that is needed is a small quantity of minced onion and salt. That's it.

It can also be enhanced with small quantities of minced tomato, onion, cilantro, and even jalapenos. But the quantity needs to be small - it's just to enhance, not overwhelm, the avocado. It has to be the star of the show.

Which is where most people go wrong - citrus. Citrus is a very strong flavor which just competes with the smooth avocado. Seriously, if you always use lemon or lime in your guacamole, try it without. You will be pleasantly surprised. The same principle applies to sour cream.

One of the biggest tricks for good guacamole is learning to recognize a ripe avocado. It should be thick skinned, preferably the Haas variety. The skin should still be mostly green - the blacker the skin, the more likely it will be overripe. It should give easily when you press your thumb into it, but not mushy.

I generally buy unripe avocados and let them sit out on the kitchen counter. Every day I check them, and when they are just beginning to ripen I put them in the fruit drawer in the fridge to slow the ripening process until I am ready to use them. You generally will have 3-4 days until they begin to go bad with this method.

I've always used the side of a spoon or a pastry cutter to mash my avocados. Most Mexican chefs will use a pestle, which is something I've always wanted. I finally splurged recently and bought my first one.